Aspirin is the most widely used analgesic preparation in the world. It is available without prescription and is marketed under a host of trade names. It has also recently been found to have many other benefits to human health beyond its pain-relieving properties. For example, it is an anti-inflammatory agent, an anti-clotting agent for the bloodstream, a heart-health enhancer, a colon-cancer deterrent, an it may have other positive effects on the human body, which effects are currently under scientific study.
One drawback in the use of aspirin is its harsh effect on the stomach lining. Aspirin is the common name of salicylic acid, C9H8O4. In tablet form, it poses a concentrated assault upon the stomach when swallowed. Antacid buffering agents are often incorporated in the tablets to lessen the damaging effect.
Unfortunately, the most commonly used forms of aspirin rapidly degrade in aqueous solution. Thus, if one is to gain the maximum benefit of aspirin, it must remain in a dry form immediately prior to ingestion. In response, some manufacturers provide analgesics in a power form packaged in a tear-open packet. This packet is then poured into a glass of water so that it may be dissolved and then drunk. For many active people, this is inconvenient.
A similar kind of answer to this problem was suggested by Sorenson et al. in their U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,958. That patent taught an apparatus and a method for associating a supplement compartment with a liquid container. The supplement may be a vitamin, mineral, analgesic, antibiotic or other medicine, flavor or color additive or nutritional in nature, and may be readily accessible and retrievable for use with the liquid such as water or other beverage. The compartment may be nested atop a cap that covers the dispenser of the container or may be otherwise associated with the container in a secure but temporary and accessible manner. Unfortunately, the same kind of difficulty is encountered in using this compartment, in that the user accesses the contents of the compartment, and then if it is to be dissolved in water in the dispenser, then it must be poured into the dispenser much as the packet of power is poured in.
Thus, there remains a need for a means of maintaining the efficacy of an analgesic, yet have the analgesic readily available for ingestion by the user. Such a means should minimize or at least reduce the harmful effects of the concentrated analgesic on the lining of the stomach, yet provide the helpful effects of the medical ingredients. The present invention is directed to filling this need in the art.